endless • kth

e i g h t e e n

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that day taehyung finished his work late. he parked his car a few blocks away and rushed towards the restaurant. he hoped that it was still open since he really wanted to see her and talk to her again.

a sigh of relief escaped his lips when he saw the lights turned on inside and people walking around. he opened the door and spotted a free table on the back. he walked through the tables with his hands on his pockets until he reached the empty spot.

he watched the people coming in and out, ordering noodles and other meals. his eyes fell on her. taehyung stared at her all night, every move she made would only bring more memories to him. even the way she held the pen when she was writing down the bills, it was the same way that ara held her pen when she studied. it was hard for him to not feel his heart flustered.

"are you going to order something?" the waiter asked. taehyung blinked twice as he turned to look at the young boy in front of him. he shook his head.

"Hmm not yet... just bring me a water bottle." jinyi nodded and disappeared through the kitchen door. taehyung returned his eyes to the woman now behind the cashier. she had orange hair but more grey hairs were clearly visible. he wondered how old she was.

"here you go sir." jinyi placed the water bottle in front of taehyung and bowed as he walked away. He opened the water bottle and took a sip. He felt her eyes on his and he stopped drinking water. He felt as his whole body froze in a second.

They stared at each other for a couple of seconds before the client in front of her talked to her. she looked away and started talking with the lady that was waiting to pay for her meal. taehyung felt a bit disappointed, he wanted to keep looking at her.

he noticed how she walked towards the kitchen bar and started pouring some drinks. he smiled at the way she did it, since it reminded him that time han ara cooked for him. this ara poured drinks in the same way his ara did in the past.

"yah... you saw that boy?" woonki whispered to her. ara looked at him with a confused face. woonki rolled his eyes.

"that blonde boy... on the back? the one that looks like an idol or an actor? he's been coming a lot lately. he hasn't ordered anything yet." ara turned to look at him. their eyes met but only a second but she felt a weird feeling as if her legs were tingling so she quickly looked away and focused on the drinks she was serving. she has been working all day and she was probably tired after all she wasn't a young woman like the old days.

"yah... this is a restaurant. we don't talk about our customers, okay?" she scolded woonki as she returned to the table to give them the drinks. she took one last glance at taehyung before returning to the cashier.

after an hour and a half, the restaurant was practically empty. there were only a couple finishing their noodles and were now paying. taehyung remained sitting on the same table. his water bottle now empty in front of him. his hands entwined resting on top of the cold wooden table, his eyes still fixed on her.

"Goodbye, come back when you want!" ara said goodbye to the last customers and turned to look at the blonde man sitting on the back of the restaurant.

"yah! what are you doing back there? you've been alone there for hours." her voice was steady but sweet. taehyung remembered those times ara would scold him but with a smile on her eyes, right now this seemed like one of those moments. she had her hands on her waist as she waited for an answer. taehyung smiled tenderly and shrugged.

"don't really like people seeing me eating." ara chuckled and shook her head as she walked towards him.

"what can i get you?" taehyung looked around, looking for jinyi but ara noticed. "jinyi went home, i am afraid you're stuck with me." she said defiantly but with playful eyes. taehyung smirked and nodded. it didn't bother him being attended by her, on the contrary, it made him feel happy and even nervous. but he prefered jinyi since the boy on the other hand didn't make him feel nervous like ara did.